Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit 2025 closed with a Bang with the Finals in Great Falls, MT

The 2025 Montana rodeo season concluded Jan 15-17, 2026, with the 47th Annual Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals held in the Metro Park in Great Falls, Montana. The PRCA sanctioned competition was tough and drew a sold-out crowd to the wall-to-wall packed arena, all to watch the super athletes while they pull no punches to prove they are the best on the floor and in the region. Some of Rodeo’s biggest stars were on hand to hash it out with veterans and newcomers alike, quite a few NFR greats including Sam Petersen, Sage Newman, Tayla Moeykens, Richmond Champion and Ty Erickson were just a few among the incredibly talented group of men and women who all make the sport of rodeo one the fastest growing sports in the world. The Circuit Finals are not just the last Rodeo of the 2025 season, it is the culmination of the whole season and allows the top 2 year-end winners of each division the offer to ride in the National Finals Rodeo Open this summer, all in hopes for qualifying for the NFR held in December in Las Vegas, Nevada every year.

The 3rd and final night started off like all Rodeos with the Bareback Broncs taking center stage and letting hooves and spirits fly but it was just the beginning of an incredible night. The Cowboys had no easy task as the horses were not just your average backyard ponies but came from great Stock Contractors who brought their best and many of the steeds had already performed in the National Finals Rodeo themselves. The athletes did not disappoint, both 4-footed and 2-footed alike came to play and lay it all out on the table, unfortunately for some like Weston Timberman and Richmond Champion, whom both were in the running for taking the Average win, the night did not go as planned but for others they came and conquered their mounts. Sam Petersen (Helena, MT) won for the second night in a row, this time on J Bar J’s “Miss Delta” with 86.5 points, which propelled him to win the Average for the weekend and take home the coveted check and title. 2nd place was picked up by Wyatt Warneke (Great Falls, MT) with 86.0 points on “Shouting Shoes”, 3rd place was taken by Trevar McAllister (Ronan, MT) with 84 points on “Lonesome Smile”, and 4th was held by Will Norstrom (East Helena, MT) on “Irish Eyes” with 81.5 points. The round ended placing into the Average winning lineup as follows, 1st place Sam Petersen, 2nd Trevar McAllister, 3rd Will Norstrom and 4th place to Tristan Hansen (Dillon, MT). The year end winner was awarded to Jake Kesl and the NFR Open invites go to Jake Kesl (Tendoy, ID) and Trevar McAllister.

Next out of the gate were the Steer Wrestlers and their trusty steeds along with the Hazers who are the unsung heroes of the discipline. The plan is to be quick out of the gate onto the steer and all four feet in the air without beating the gate (leaving the box before the steer is fully out of the chute) or miss dropping onto the steer with perfect timing and technique. After the clock stopped for the final athlete Ty Erickson of Helena, Montana and his NFR Champion horse “Crush” won the round for the second time during the weekend. Erickson got the job done in 4.3 seconds and which allowed him to bulldog the Average title and take home $4,405. Bridger Chambers (Stevensville, MT) wrestled his way into the 2nd place seat with a 4.5 second run while Jake Nelson (Whitehall, MT) held onto the 3rd place with 4.6 seconds followed by Luke Gee from (Stanford, MT) in the 4th place spot with a 7.3 second performance. The Average winners were 1st Ty Erickson, 2nd Luke Gee, 3rd Jaden Whitman (Whitehall, MT) and 4th Kolby Bignell (Avon, MT). The year titles for 1st was given to Ty Erickson and 2nd to Jaden Whitman and the NFR Open invites go to Ty Erickson and Jaden Whitman.

Team Roping is always the third event of the evening and was fast paced and action packed leaving the athletes with some great scores and some others with gut-wrenching missed throws. The steers don’t always run straight but when all goes well the Headers and Heelers are able to show the fans what precision and perfect lariats look like, and the night did just that. With fast horses, perfect timing and well-practiced throws the ropes landed Cameron Irwin (Buffalo, WY) and Coley Nicholls (Kinnear, WY) with 4.6 seconds. Putting on the pressure was Jon Petersen (Belle Fourche, SD) and Arye Espenscheid (Big Piney, WY) with a 5.0 second run, 3rd place was seized by Trey Fleming (Worden, MT) and Jared Bilby (Bridgeport, NE) at 5.7 seconds and 4th went to Miles Kobold (Huntley, MT) and Matt Schieck (Casper, WY) at 9.9 seconds. The final run of the season saw the Average of the weekend picked up by 1st place winners Dillon Johnson (Belt, MT) and Colton Fisher (Shepherd, MT), 2nd place was given to Jon Petersen and Ayre Espenscheid, 3rd goes to Gunner Plenty (Garryowen, MT) and Mason Trollinger (Lodge Grass, MT) while the 4th spot went to Brent and Tanner McInerney (Alzada, MT). The year end tiles go to 1st Brady Tryan (Huntley, MT) and 2nd to Gunnar Plenty for Headers and 1st to Calgary Smith and 2nd Mason Trollinger for Heelers. The NFR Open invites were awarded to Headers; Brady Tryan and Dillon Johnson and Heelers; Calgary Smith and Colton Fisher.

Saddle Bronc is one of the fan favorites and for good reason, broncs buck hard and high while the Cowboys try to match up to the powerful horses move for move and always stay a step ahead of the dance so they can sit the full 8 seconds and not have a face-to-face conversation with the arena dirt. The Pick-Up men are the unsung heroes of the bronc riding events, they always lay it on the line for the athletes, but the fans are there to see the adrenaline pumping bronc show. When all the dust settled it was no surprise to see the Champion Sage Newman from Melstone, Montana not only win the night with an 88 point ride on J Bar J’s “Gronk” but also take home the Average title by winning all three nights of the Rodeo, a feat that only he alone accomplished by his polished and solid style. Coming into the 2nd place spot with 84.5 point rides each was a tie given to Jesse Kruse (Bridger, MT) and Jake Waston (Hudson's Hope, BC) 4th place was Qwint Stroh (Glendive, MT) with 84 points after his 8 seconds of glory. The Average winning was undisputedly seized by Sage Newman and then followed by 2nd place Jesse Kruse, 3rd went to Josh Davison (Miles City, MT) while 4th was Qwint Stroh. Saddle Bronc year end winners are 1st Sage Newman and 2nd was handed to Jake Watson. The NFR Open invites were awarded to Sage Newman and Jake Watson.

The Breakaway Roping by the ever-talented ladies was amazing as always and left some jaws on the floor by fans as we watched the flash of the ropes on the quick calves bolting out of the chute and headed to the far end of the arena. With lightning quick timing and a perfectly placed loop Ellie Meeks (Geraldine, MT) came first out of the box to win the whole round before anyone else had a chance. Meeks remained at the top with a 2.4 second job while all the other ladies tried to overtake the young roper, a few were close but couldn’t quite overtake her. The night ended with Meeks taking the top spot of the round with 2nd place going to Dusti Bird (Cut Bank, MT) at 2.5 seconds, 3rd place was roped in by Cadee Williams (Big Timber, MT) and closing out the podiums spots at 4th place was Joey Williams (Volberg, MT). The Average titles earned and handed to 1st place winner Joey Williams, 2nd place went to Jacey Fortier (Billings, MT), 3rd was clutched by Celie Salmond (Choteau, MT) and 4th went to Cadee Williams. Year end titles were harvested by Joey Williams in 1st and Jacey Fortier 2nd, both of whom also earned the NFR Open invites.

The 6th performance of the Rodeo is the Tie-Down Roping, the cowboys and their horses were on fire and the calves were cunning, but the men were up to the job and put on a great show. Not all bovines were cooperative, but the showing was great as we watched Jade Gardner (Winnett, MT) and Chantz Webster (Ponder, TX) tie for the 1st place spot with 8.9 seconds in their loop and hondo work. J.C. Crowley (Poplar, MT) came in third with a quick 10.8 second run and 4th was caught by Shay Keller (Rockglen, SK) at 10.9 seconds. The event was fast and furious but all in all the Average wins go to 1st place Dillon Hahnkamp (Melrose, MT), 2nd was tied up by Shay Keller while J.C. Crowley gathered up 3rd, and coming 4th in the Average was Haven Meged (Miles City, MT). Year end winners were 1st place Haven Meged and 2nd place Dillon Hahnkamp with the NFR Open invites going to the same athletes.

The second to last event always puts in the spotlight the athleticism and skill of the ladies and horses of Barrel Racing. Watching the gals guiding their horses through the clover leaf like pattern while nailing perfectly timed lead changes for their equines is super impressive while they are galloping at full speed, this is a pure high-energy and exciting sport. After the blazing speeds and dust came down the 1st place position was conquered by Tayla Moeykens of Three Forks, Montana with a eye-blinking fast time of 12.75 seconds, while 2nd place was achieved by Heather Crowley (Poplar, MT) with a time of 12.91 seconds. 3rd place was held by Ashley Day (Volborg, MT) at a time of 12.99 seconds and 4th place saw Bailee Murnion (Kinsey, MT) at 13.13 seconds. Year end winners were awarded to 1st place rider Ashley Day and 2nd to Heather Crowley. NFR Open invites were awarded to Ashley Day and Taylor Gardner. 

The fireworks to culminate the whole show is always the white-knuckle event of Bull Riding. The huge beasts emanate with pure power and shake the ground while trying to buck off the rider on their backs but with perfect timing and pure grit the riders can cover an 8 second ride and walk away pumped and filled with glory. The third and final ride of the event ended with Gavin Knutson (Polson, MT) winning the night and the Average with a high score of 85 points on Brookman Rodeo’s “Kowalski” a massive and fear evoking bull. Tahj Wells (Browning, MT) rode into 2nd place with 81.5 points while no other rider was able to cover their rides for the evening. With those two rides in the bag that left the Average wins going to 1st place Gavin Knutson, 2nd place was handed to Payton Fitzpatrick (Polson, MT) while 3rd place was a tie between Ruger Piva (Challis, MT) and Kobe Whitford (Cut Bank, MT). End of year awards go to the tough athletes in 1st place Gavin Knutson and 2nd place Tristan O’Neal (Valier, MT) both also were awarded the NFR Open invites.

The year was great and the Year End All Around winner was earned by Jon Petersen and for the Women we saw Cadee Williams take home the coveted spot. The showdown was one that will be remembered until next year’s event and not be quickly forgotten. The Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals are definitely the place to be as we watch the best of the best in the region come and show their stuff and have the chance to go home champions and possibly go on to the NFR Open. We can’t wait until next year’s event while the Athletes all prepare for their next rodeo of the Winter Season and mentally and physically get ready for the summer Rodeo season. Congratulations to all winners and money makers and good luck on your next performance.